Category: Salary Facts & Fun

Every year, Forbes releases its updated list of the world's billionaires. Some things tend to remain pretty consistent from year to year: Bill Gates is usually No. 1, or close to it; the U.S. has more billionaires than any other single country; new billionaires are often tech entrepreneurs or investors. What's different about this year? Well, for the first time since the recession, the number of billionaires in the world declined, from 1,826 in 2015 to 1,810 in 2016.

Mulder and Scully, arguably one of the most memorable teams on TV, are in the spotlight today, and it's not just because of the revival of the supernatural hit show The X-Files. It's about a more serious topic: the gender pay gap.

Just like in real life, your video and computer game characters usually have to bring in some sort of income to survive. Whether you're looting gold coins or earning them through trade, you have to have enough gold to get you through the game. Today, I'm going to focus on one of my favorite games, World of Warcraft, and how much money characters from each profession would be earning in real life if they weren't hustling for in-game gold in Azeroth.

Much like you, your TV favorites play their part in the 40-hour work week. Thanks to the magic of television, these characters make having careers in physics and marketing seem easy. But, do you think they could honestly hold these gigs in real life?

At PayScale, we really love data. Throughout 2015, we used data to tackle some of the most debated topics in the career world, as well as to shed some light on common misconceptions about data. PayScale's reports cover everything from the gender pay gap to the cost and reward of higher education. And sometimes, we analyze qualitative data, like how workers feel about their jobs. For example, which jobs are the most meaningful, and more importantly, which are the most meaningless? And, do women really only make 78 cents for every dollar a man makes?

Forget kids! Why nanny for human offspring when you could be spending your time with baby panda cubs instead? A handful of organizations, including the Giant Panda Protection and Research Center in the Sichuan province of southwest China, actually employ a category of workers known as panda nannies, the primary responsibility of whom, as the job title suggests, is to play with painfully adorable panda cubs.

Using the bedroom mattress as a springboard to the stars is a quintessential childhood pastime. So much so, that the classic nursery song Five Little Monkeys has over 68 million hits on YouTube).?As a career path for adults, however, mattress jumping "is not a game," according to Reuben Reynoso, a professional "mattress filler" who has made a career out of jumping on high-end mattresses for McRoskey Mattress Company in San Francisco's Potrero Hill.?

Does your job make the world a better place? Some professions are more likely to answer "yes" to that question than others – and which ones might surprise you. PayScale's report, The Most and Least Meaningful Jobs, looks at which occupations have high meaning, and which make workers feel like their job is hurting the world more than helping. If you're thinking about changing careers, or just want to see how your job stacks up, this report is for you.

Language matters, especially when it comes to legislation. Recently, we had proof of this when the Affordable Care Act nearly deflated thanks to an alternate interpretation of the phrase "established by the state." Now, city officials in Portland, Maine, find themselves in a similar bind: confusion over the language in a recent bill to raise the city's minimum wage to $10.10 an hour led city council to nearly double tipped workers' wages, from $3.75 to $6.35 an hour, as of January 1. The accidental raise was met with dismay from restaurant owners and delight from labor organizers. Both dismay and delight, however, might be short-lived.

The number of graduates majoring in the humanities and social sciences in the U.S. has declined in recent years, and liberal arts institutions are making a concerted effort to change the perception that humanities and social science degrees cannot lead to profitable careers.

What goes into determining how much money you make? In most organizations, salaries are determined by mapping roles and job descriptions with similar organizations (competitors) through a third-party compensation and benchmarking service. A typical job is broken down into its responsibilities, criticality, complexity, and market availability to name a few crucial factors. Based on these factors, the range for a job is arrived upon.

In the United States, 401(k) is a retirement savings plan provided by the employer. The plan provides employees with the option to defer a percentage of pay toward their retirement account, to be withdrawn at a later time. Retirement plans like these can be a major perk, especially if the company matches some of the employee's contributions. Here's how to get the most out of your 401(k).